Karl Ivanovich Kollman

signed and dated C. Kollman 1834 lower left, inscribed Kollman/ La salle des Fleurs Pawlino/ Juin 1834 on the original mount

Adolf Friedrich, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleberg (The Wittgenstein Family Album, 1834-1843)
Private Collection
Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London, 1994

New York, The Frick Collection, An Album of Nineteenth-Century Interiors, Watercolors from Two Private Collections, May 21-August 23, 1992, no. W2

Charlotte Gere and Floramae McCarron-Cates, "House Proud, From Amateur to Professional and from Grand to Comfortable," House Proud, Nineteenth Century Interiors from the Thaw Collection, exh. cat., New York, 2002, p. 72, note 29

Spots of foxing visible in sky through window, overall colors are bright and fresh. Paper is affixed to original mount with adhesive on top corners, mount is affixed to new mat board with paper hinges along top edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work comes from the Wittgenstein Family Album, assembled from 1834-1843 by Ludwig Adolf Friedrich, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleberg (1799-1866).  An aide-de-camp to Tsar Nicholas I, Prince Wittgenstein came from a line of military heroes, including his father Prince Peter of Sayn and Wittgenstein, who led Russian campaigns against Napoleon.  The Tsar granted large land grants throughout Russia to the family, and additional estates were added by Prince Wittingstein's 1828 marriage to Princess Caroline (Stefania) Radziwill, daughter of Prince Dominik Radziwill of a Polish noble family. On Princess Caroline's death in 1834, Prince Wittgenstein married Princess Leonilla Bariatinsky (1816-1918) from a family still powerful at the Russian court.  This union brought further properties in Ukraine and Crimea. Given the incredible number of homes owned by Prince Wittgenstein and his extended family, an album recording their favorite residences was useful both as inventory and memento as they traveled throughout the year from location to location. Built in Neoclassical style in the eighteenth century, the family's summer home of Pavlino is most often illustrated in the album, suggesting it was among the favorite residences.  The present work shows one of the two wings that flanked Pavlino's terraced front. Though flowers, ferns, and verdant shrubbery decorate the space, they were not grown in the glassed-in Winter Garden, but in a more utilitarian greenhouse where temperature and conditions could be better controlled.  At the end of the room a pergola is furnished with chinoiserie cane seats and marble sculptures.  Not just quiet space to enjoy a book or ponder the beauty of nature, the open floor plan was also ideal for entertaining, and many dances and parties were enjoyed at Pavlino (Charlotte Gere, An Album of Nineteenth Century Interiors, Watercolors from Two Private Collections, exh. cat. 1992, pp. 102-7, 114)

Along with twenty-six other pages from the Wittgenstein Family Album (out of a total of twenty-nine that are known to still exist) the present work was exhibited at The Frick Collection, New York, in 1992.  The accompanying exhibition catalogue written by Charlotte Gere provides fascinating insight into the album's importance.